From one congregation in Boston fighting for improvements to the eldercare system, to another in Texas working to bring public services to all El Paso residents, synagogues across the country are organizing for social change.  In these profiles, read the stories of six synagogues that learned how to transform their communities--and transformed themselves in the process.

B’nai Jehoshua Beth Elohim
The Power of Listening
“ The listening campaign crosses all demographics of our community—young and old, married and single. Through people’s stories, we have forged relationships across the synagogue. There is nothing else like it.”
—Judith Gethner, lay leader

Bnai Keshet
Building a New Synagogue Culture
“CBCO has created a framework for transforming the language of justice into the language of covenant. All areas of our synagogue life are now more rooted in our relationships with each other. It’s a much more Jewish way of operating.”
—Rabbi Elliott Tepperman

Congregation Sha’ar Zahav
Revitalizing Synagogue Life
“My congregants have become leaders in all areas of congregational life. One is now a member of the synagogue board. Another, who is disabled, decided to have an adult bat mitzvah. A third has joined the citywide committee of SFOP. The leadership that has been cultivated in this process is amazing.”
—Rabbi Camille Shira Angel

Congregation Shir Hadash
A Synagogue Finds its Public Voice
“The CBCO model is not about introducing a new one-time glitzy program; it’s about continually tending the congregation, just as you would tend your garden. And the great thing about it is that it does not start from a political place; it starts with relationships, by asking ‘where are you, what’s going on in your life?’”
—Rabbi Melanie Aron

Temple Emanuel
Transformative Action
“The assembly was a watershed moment. We got the mayor to come, our senator, representatives. The leadership of the temple looked at how many people were there and said ‘wow.’ People felt that the synagogue was changing that day. It was electrifying.”
—Sam Silverman, lay leader

Temple Mount Sinai
The Impact of Interfaith Work
“Through this work, we’ve developed real solidarity. At the interfaith seder, our congregants were in a church in the shadow of their own homes, making friendships and meeting people, and finding out that we had kids in the same school. As we moved forward and deepened our relationship with St. Jude, we recognized that they are really serious partners in this work with us. We realized that this community that we are building, we are building together.”
—Rabbi Larry Bach